MISSION, VALUES & FUTURE

The growth of a children's learning and development program

Our Mission

Many years ago Araminta Ortiz was preparing to receive some young children for class, and asked her grandmother to help unfold a big colorful parachute she had bought to show and play with the kids. They went into the backyard and spread it across the ground, and then stood across from each other to lift it back up and shake off the desert sand. And as they were shaking it, and smiling across at each other, something amazing happened: from out of the parachute popped Chuty!

Chuty: a fully formed idea to provide children an ideal of love and support through play-based activities that could help develop them physically, cognitively, emotionally, socially and with conscience for their future lives.

This was the first vision of Chuty, and remains the same vision for Chuty today, thousands of families and children later, and thousands more to come.

Chuty Parachute Child

Our Values

We value natural learning through freedom-of-play activities, eco-friendly play environments and whole-child play patterns.

We value the recognition and promotion of robust, healthy and secure family ecologies shaped by co-creative activities.

We value cultural connections between children and their communities, as well as communities different than their own.

Chuty is a children's doll that serves as a teaching aide to parents - and friend to the kids - in the Chuty integral early learning program. When Chuty comes to life, he embodies the love we strive to provide our children - to raise them with joy, song, adventure, conscience and in peaceful harmony with the natural world.